My Saints 'Boys' from Class of '78 (Sec 4)

      From Left to Right round the table : Specs Pang Seng Meng, White shirt : Albert Heng, Apparoo Surendran, Me, Michael Tan Joo Liang (specs), Chew Ping Nan (white shirt and organiser), Dr. Jeffrey Kuan, Andrew Lee, Kenneth Fong, Chandrakanth Mahawar, S. Thulasidas, unknown, Paul James Ezekiel.  

      As I hit my '50s ; there is a more urgent need to reconnect with the friends of my youth, which are the 'boys' from St Andrew's Primary and Secondary. So every year (or 2), my friend Ping Nan, faithfully rounds up the Usual Gang of Suspects (who are the 'boys' of the class of '78 Sec 4 Saint Andrews) and we make every effort to go Back to School and reacquaint ourselves with teachers of old, the classrooms and of course our long lost 'band of brothers' whom we played marbles with at the school yard, swung by the Banyan tree beside the school, played truant with the then discipline master Mr. Victor Wee, played mid afternoon soccer in the school field and coming in to class stinking to high heaven.

     These are what our collective memories were made of. We cannot go back but we can always reconnect and have a laugh about the 'good old times'. While some people think aging and growing old is scary, it is a rite of passage of life, so we need to accept life, as well as death and the ups and downs which we are given in heaps and doses.

      Are there 'winners' in life ? Or are there 'losers' ?  I am still pondering that question today. But in the meantime I cherish every meeting with my old 'bros' of yesteryear. 

More on Egypt - 25 Jan 2017 Update

The Sun setting on the River Nile

      One of the most fascinating places I have visited is Egypt ; The Nile is called the Giver of Life and the Country is split into the north and the south by the river Nile. There are numerous cruise ships (mostly European run like the Movenpick brand name) which ply the Nile and the best time to visit is in Winter. The weather is cool (something like 17 - 20 deg C in the daytime) and the ancient structures are simply stunning. I would visit this place again in no time !

     There is a great opportunity for me this year 2017 as we have some business in the Middle East and since Egypt is in the vicinity, I might just go back for one more unforgettable visit. The must visit places are :

The God Ra with Ramses II

a) Luxor - so many temples are located there.
b) Alexandria
c) Cario - the National Museum housing the Rosetta Stone is there
d) Abu Simbel
e) Aswan - Dam
f) Hapshetshut - the one and only time Egypt was ruled by a Queen
g) Valley of the Kings

May at Luxor

The last 6 years since the start of the "Arab Spring" has led to some instability and insecurity in the region, however, I believe that tourism is an important aspect of many a country's GDP so there should be ample avenues to pay this magnificent country a visit ; just to see the once in a lifetime pyramids and amazingly built temples.

A relief on the side of a column

Consort serving the god with some earthly food

Ramses II and one of his wives

Greek influence can be seen on the column

Unforgettable Egypt

Trick Photo at a vantage point about 500 m from the pyramids

One of the most unforgettable countries I have visited must be Egypt, straddling Africa and the Middle East, it is dominated by the amazing river Nile which stretches from practically North to South of this country. Home of close to 70 million Egytians, Egypt is a country of many wonders and in particular the gods of the past which many people speculate were from another planet ; such was Egypt's sophisticated calculations in building the pyramids, the Valley of the Kings and all the wonderful temples which have withstood thousands of years, it is indeed an amazing country.  

The coronation of Ramses II with 2 gods front and back 

Our family took the 10 day tour of Egypt in 2009, and we started at the city of Luxor where the great temples of Ramses I, II and others were all situated. They believed in many gods, in particular Osiris and Ra being the 2 most important ones. The sense of grandeur is still present today even though present day Egypt is still struggling to come to terms with a democracy after many years under the rule of Hosni Mubarak and Anwar Sadat. 

Unforgettable Nile river in the evening, with the sailboats at left 

                                       The boys at the Aswan dam on a sunny day 

How to Live to be 100 Years Young ? Keep mentally and physically Active.

                                                  My Uncle N. Vaithinathan turned 100 in August 
                                        (Center picture with my brother John and his family)

My uncle Vaithinathan turned 100 recently, and the family of whom he married my father's younger sister Esther Abisheganaden, had a big dinner to celebrate it with about 60 of his closest family and friends. It was held at the NUSS Guild House and true to his humble nature, he was his ascerbic self.

A very humble and devout man, my uncle Vaithi and my aunt Esther are the perfect couple soulmates, so to speak. They were teenage lovebirds and he was formerly the principal of Tanjung Katong Primary school. He retired at age 55, then studied law (!) and practised for 17 years. At 73, he took up linguistics and learnt and is still studying to this day ! He is a master of 5 languages, and never lost his faculties or wit as was apparent on the day of his birthday. He was known to bother his grandchildren about the intricacies of the computer usage, and the various types of Microsoft Office software, something I am ashamed to say I am lagging in that department.

He also would take daily 5km walks and is an avowed non smoker. He does drink the occasional whisky I believe. The secret to his logevity ? Keeping mentally and physically active and interact with as many young people as possible. Be needed by the community.

We are indeed blessed to be part of his family, and wish him many many more years of good health and joy.

  

Playing and Winning as a Team

                                          Doing the Ido shigyi (Movement ) in Karate class 

      It is one thing to do well individually, but as a team, far greater achievements can and will be reached. It is not easy to train, then gel the members together as one cohesive unit, but I am very determined to achieve that with my last try as a business unit with my company.

      The challenges are very strong now, from what we can see, but we will still need to press on ever higher to achieve the goals and stay the course so that when the economy does pull out from the bad times, we can again fly high. 

       Team building is always on my agenda, but team cooperation and coordination is ever so important for success. No company ever flies high due to 1 to 3 persons, it takes a cohesive and sacrificial team of perhaps 5 or more to achieve that.

       Lets do it !!! 

       

Work Hard till Year's End ; Payoff will Come

Christmas 2013 

This post is a strong reminder to me that, despite the tough economic conditions, the business environment still remains tough, manufacturing sector in Singapore still remains 

and there are needs to test and purchase equipment, only with more stringent conditions attached to them.

I must lead my team to innovate, be creative in our sales and marketing and not shirk new ways of doing the business. There are people wanting to take away all the hard earned wealth of our country, so Singapore, in particular Singaporeans have to adapt to the new climate.

Never fear, try new emerging industries which we have identified, and PRESS ON. Success is just around the corner, do not look at failure as an option. Only the strongest and the most adaptable survive.

 

Right Man for the Right Time ; Never Ever Give Up !

                                             England's Greatest Prime Minister, the British Bulldog


         In life, there will be everyone's 15 minutes of fame. Some people keep that fame for decades, some never achieving anything noteworthy to anybody. Then, there are the truly great people who happen to rise to the occasion when crisis strikes an institution, a community, a family, an organization, a society or even a continent. During the 2nd World War, a little known Minister called Winston Churchill was thurst into the limelight and became Britain's only hope of survival. By sheer strength of character, the British Bulldog coaxed, cajoled, bullied, mocked, and rallied through sheer force of his speeches a people who were bombed day in day our by the Nazi Luftwaffe.

        He put up a brave front, and is renowned for so many famous speeches when all else looked doomed. The famous Battle of Britain was fought above the white cliffs of Dover, and south eastern London. Many young men, barely out of boyhood, died or were injured beyond recognition figitning against the best of the Luftwaffe. Many dogfight strategies were crafted by 'kill or be killed' where it was a survival of the most cunning, or luckiest.

      "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall never ever surrender this little plot of Heaven, this our England" was his famous rallying cry. 

      To that ends, he was the Man who stood up during Britain's darkest hour and never backed down. The modern world owes him and the millions of Allies who fought, were maimed and died for the just cause.

     Sir Winston after the war was a misfit in Parliament, his time to shine was rightfully during Britain's darkest hour.